The substance called Venetian or French chalk, used by tailors and others, is nothing more than steatite. It can be readily cut with a knife, and is infusible in any ordinary furnace heat.
Slaty varieties, of which there are many, are comparatively useless.
DANVILLE.
There is a mine at Shipton, about four miles from the village of Danville, contiguous to the line of the Grand Trunk Railway, which has been for some time worked by Mr. Jeffery, whose acquaintance I had the pleasure of making in Montreal, but I much regret that time did not permit of a visit to this mine, so I can give no details of my own personal knowledge.
The outcrop of the serpentine here, I am told, is quite limited, with steep sides till round it. It however contains numerous veins of asbestos which, though mostly of small size, are of good quality. Faults are numerous, and these considerably affect the value of the property, some of the good veins, with a thickness of two inches, for instance, being cut off completely at a distance of fifty feet from the surface.
In a pamphlet published at Ottawa, by the Department of Agriculture of the Dominion Government, I find it stated that the whole output of this mine has been contracted for the next ten years. This is said to amount to 100 tons per annum, and its value is given as $60 per ton.
SOUTH HAM.
This mine, the property of Dr. Reed of Reedsdale, Megantic, is situate on the Nicolet Estate, in the township of South Ham, 7½ miles from the Garthby Station on the line of the Quebec Central Railway. It was first described as being situate on Big Island, in the centre of Lake Nicolet, where the serpentine rocks rise very abruptly to the height of seventy feet, forming precipitous cliffs on the western side of the island. Recent exploration, however, has shown that the main body of asbestos is on the hill-side, and is of such extent as altogether to eclipse that proved to exist on the island, which was at first thought to be the chief source of supply.
The mine on the island is not being worked, but has been fully proved by numerous openings which have been made at the most promising points, revealing in every case veins of asbestos of remarkably good quality and in great abundance. These, as mentioned, are now known to pass under the lake, and can be seen cropping out in many places on the shore and the hill-side.
The mineral as seen on the island presents many points of difference from that at Thetford and Coleraine; and in the Geological Survey of Canada, I find it is stated to consist of four varieties, viz.:—